Technical Abstract:
The rheological properties of binary blends of polystyrene (PS) with biodegradable polyesters were investigated. The biodegradable polyesters were: polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), poly(tetramethylenemadipate-co-terephthalate (EBU). All blends displayed non-Newtonian behavior, and zero shear viscosities that followed an Arrhenius dependence on temperature. Zero-shear viscosities of the blends were highly dependent on the concentration of PS and the chemistries of the biodegradable polyesters. EBU-PS blends showed a composition-zero-shear viscosity profile with a monotonous increase of zero-shear viscosity between those of neat EBU and neat PS. PCL-PS and PLA-PS blends displayed profiles with maxima and minima zero-shear viscosities, respectively.